Midlander Aubry Glosson has wanted to purchase a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle for some time.

Since Friday's shooting in Newtown, Conn., that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six school officials, the 61-year-old former Marine Corps sergeant said he's more intent now on purchasing a rifle.

On Monday, he looked at a DPMS AR-15, a semiautomatic rifle with a 30-round magazine, at Guns and Trade Inc. on North Midland Drive. The DPMS is similar to what Glosson was looking for in the Bushmaster AR-15, he said.

"This phone's been ringing off the hook all day," he said Monday. "Whenever we have something like (the school shooting) happen, people go crazy about buying guns."

But he said he thinks the increase in gun sales locally has more to do with Midlanders having the money to purchase such weapons.

Guns and Trade sells handguns, shotguns and assault weapons, including AR-15 and SKS rifles, he said. The AR-15 is similar to the model used by the gunman in Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Atchison said that while more people called or visited the store Monday to inquire about guns, sales have been increasing since two months before the presidential election.

"People are scared that (President) Obama is going to try and pass legislation that will outlaw assault weapons and higher magazines," he said.

Atchison has a limited number of assault rifles because SKSs and AR-15s are more expensive for him to purchase to stock his store.

Gun and ammunition sales at Jake's Clays, on FM 1379, began increasing around the time of the presidential election, according to owner Jeff Jacobson.

People "go out and hoard," he said.

He attributes this to a trend that occurs whenever a presidential candidate with anti-gun policies is elected.

Jacobson's store offers mostly shotguns and handguns, but also sells a few AR-15s

With the discussions that have arisen in the wake of the Newtown shootings to prohibit certain rifles, Jacobson said he is worried the bans may become a reality.

"I'd hate to see something like that happen," he said.

A local group is working to educate Midlanders on proper gun safety and how to prevent shootings like the one in Newtown.

"It's a sad thing," said Robert Ralls, committee chairman for Permian Basin Friends of the NRA. "I always feel sad for the victims and their families."

Ralls, a former Department of Public Safety officer and owner Midland security company, Citadel Investigations and Security, said the NRA spreads awareness of gun safety to children.

The NRA developed the Eddie Eagle program, which teaches children what to do if they find a gun: Stop, don't touch, leave the area and tell an adult.

Other programs include Refuse to be a Victim and Women On Target. The latter program teaches women how to properly use and store firearms.

Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter is confident in the efforts of his office and other law enforcers to ensure Midlanders are safe.

He said guns are not the issue, because a gun cannot function without someone behind it pulling the trigger.

"The biggest threat is not weapons; it's people and the people who are behind the guns."

Before anyone buys a weapon, they must go through this background check.

Mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 and launched by the FBI on Nov. 30, 1998, National Instant Criminal Background Check System is used by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives. Before ringing up the sale, cashiers call in a check to the FBI or to other designated agencies to ensure that each customer does not have a criminal record or isn’t otherwise ineligible to make a purchase. More than 100 million such checks have been made in the last decade, leading to more than 700,000 denials.

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Source: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, subsidairy of the U.S. Department of Treasury

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- Texas had the second most NICS firearm background checks in the county, second only to Kentucky.

- here were almost 1.2 million background checks for firearm purchases in Texas between January and November 2012, the latest months statistics are available.

- There was an 108 percent increase in background checks in Texas between January and Nov 2012.

- There was more than a 22 percent increase in background checks in Texas since Obama took office until 2011, the last full year stats are available.

- Although the year is not completed, there is already a 26 percent increase in 2012 in Texas background checks since Obama was inaugurated in 2008.

- There have been 11,724,997 firearm background checks in Texas since the NICS databse was launched in November 1998.

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Source: FBI’s NICS Background Check report by state.

FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION TAX, TOTAL

(Numbers are in thousands of dollars)

1st Quarter: $113,265

2nd Quarter: $115,064

Third Quarter: $135,868

Fourth Quarter: $150,425

2012: $514,622

2011: $344,262

Statistics released Dec. 3, 2012

Source: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

2012: $514,622

2011: $344,262

2010: $360,814

2009: $452,692

2008: $312,622

2007: $287,836

***** Numbers in thousands of dollars *****

- About $170,000 million more in taxes from gun and ammo purchases year over year between 2012 and 2011.

- More than a 49 percent increase year over year between 2012 and 2011

- About $200 million more in taxes since Obama took office in 2008.

- About $227 million more in Taxes since Obama declared he was running for office.

Source: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

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- Pistols and revolvers have a 10 percent tax while other firearms and ammunition have an 11 percent tax rate.

- American have spent more than $5.14 Billion on firearms and ammunition in 2012, according to a Dec. 3 report released by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

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- As of Dec. 31, 2011, there are 518,625 concealed handgun permits in Texas, according to DPS.

- There were 63,679 gun-releated convictions in Texas in 2011, of them, only 120 offenses were committed by a concealed weapons permit holder for a total of .18 percent of convictions, according to the DPS’ convcition rate report.